Kubri Siteen — Basmah Felemban

Kubri Siteen, 2024Videogame
Videogame Archives SaudiStreetArt

Part of the project If We Close Our Eyes, It’s Still The Same, commissioned by @hayyjameel
In collaboration with Mustafa AlHassan

This commission held special significance for Mustafa and me. In 2019, we created a guidebook documenting street art in AlBalad, AlKandara, and AlAmmariya. Through that work, we realised that graffiti marks territories of protection, spaces for gathering, play, and urban mythologies — which resulted to an alternative guidebook of those neighbourhoods centring the memories and daily life of their local residents.

Fast-forward to 2024: we realized that in a rapidly changing city, a guidebook quickly becomes an archive. As we once traced stories through graffiti, this game now traces the paths of restaurants and cafeterias that relocated as a result of urban transformation — particularly in South Jeddah. We explored where they moved, how they adapted, and how their menus, branding, and clientele evolved.

This heartwarming project reminded us of the human ability to persevere and thrive, of Jeddah’s enduring nature, and that there will always be a place for us in her.

Thank you to the communities of Albaghdadiyah, Alkandara, and AlAmmariya for their warmth, and to the Hayy Jameel team for supporting this project.

Artists: Basmah Felemban, Mustafa AlHassan (@musta2fa)
Graphics: Mooni Studio (@mooni.studio)
Game Development: Jubair Ahmed (@room54topfloor)
Music Playlist: Nouf Abdulkarim (@_________nouf)